Changes in the Legislature may also have an impact on what many have felt has been a slow process.
The next step for Polymet's non ferrous mining project is the release of the supplemental draft environmental impact statement, followed by its open comment period.
Company officials say if agency time tables go accordingly, this next step could be a big one.
"If you look at it roughly; next summer would be the supplemental draft, the following summer, hopefully we get our permits and be able to begin construction and we can be up and running about 12 to 15 months after that. So we're not here twiddling our thumbs; this is a very active business and very active venue," said Polymet President and CEO Joe Scipioni.
The sense of dragging feet is something Congressman–elect Chip Cravaack hopes to change.
Earlier this year, Cravaack said his goal is to have the mine up and running by the end of his first term.
"One of the main things that I can do is to facilitate federal regulations and state regulations to look at what do we need to do here to get this project going. This is good for Minnesota. It's not just good for the 8th district but it's good for Minnesota," said Congressman-elect Chip Cravaack.
Scipioni says while it's still too early to tell what impact the 2010 elections could have on the project, the support from both parties has always been abundant.
"Chip is showing strong support of it. He realizes how important it is to create the jobs as did Congressman Oberstar," said Scipioni.
As for the meticulous regulatory hurdles they've had to clear, Scipioni says the process ensures that a non ferrous mine in Minnesota would be done more safely than anywhere else in the world.
"With today's standards and the rules that you have to follow there is no way you can build a project that is going to wreck the environment; you won't get it permitted," said Scipioni.
Scipioni says the minerals Polymet looks to mine are used everyday in things from Hybrid cars to cell phones.
He says the future non ferrous mining brings is just another way the Iron Range can continue its rich mining history, as it has for more than a century.
"We know how to do this; we know how to mine, we know how to take care of our environment. We know how to do this and do it right," said Scipioni.
Once up and running the project would create nearly 400 full time jobs, with hundreds more coming during the construction phase.
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